There will a free, public film showing of the Filipino film “Ilo Ilo,” directed by Anthony Chen, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, UCB 100.
There will a free, public film showing of the Filipino film “Ilo Ilo,” directed by Anthony Chen, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, UCB 100.
The screening is sponsored in part by FIL 330 Filipino Films, UH-Hilo Filipino Studies Certificate Program and Minority Access and Achievement Program, and Seed Initiatives for Diversity, Equity, Access and Success.
Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, “Ilo Ilo” chronicles the day-to-day drama of the Lim family — troublesome grade-schooler Jiale and his overstressed parents, Heck and Leng. Comfortably middle class and with another baby on the way, they hire Teresa, a Filipino immigrant, as a live-in maid and nanny.
An outsider in both the family and Singapore itself, Teresa initially struggles to manage Jiale’s antics and find her footing in her new community. The two eventually form a unique bond, but just as Teresa becomes an unspoken part of the family, unforeseen circumstances in an uncertain economy will challenge the new normal yet again.
For more information, contact Rodney Jubilado at 932-7209 or rodneycj@hawaii.edu.